03/21/2011

The Amazon Appstore for Android has just gone live, with Angry Birds Rio featured front and center as the store’s first paid app that’s up for grabs for free. Letting customers pay nothing for an app that usually costs something is a great way to celebrate the grand opening, but it turns out that it’s a recurring promotion that Amazon will be doing every day.

The Appstore’s web interface is laid out in typical Amazon.com format, with bestsellers, deals, and new releases accessible through tabs at the top; popular features (e.g., test driving apps on a simulated Android phone before you buy), app categories, and featured developers on the left; and various promos and informational links on the right.

Apps can be installed from your web brower or directly on your HTC EVO using the new Appstore app:

The app itself is clean, straightforward, and easy to use, with your Amazon.com account being called upon to make purchases. It exists independently from the Market, of course, so purchases you made there aren’t reflected in the Appstore, which means it’s possible to acccidentally buy an app twice (once in the Market, once in the Appstore).

The Angry Birds Rio exclusive and daily app giveaway should be more than enough to make the Amazon Appstore’s inaugural week a successful one, but how it will fare against the Market in the long run remains to be seen.